John Wesley & his Babicz Dreadnought

"I predict that this is the guitar of the future... In years to come, any professional will play the Babicz, and nothing else" Guitar Noise, July 2006

A natural evolution from Jeff Babicz's original 'Identity' acoustic designs, the strikingly modern Babicz Dreadnought Cutaway delivers warm, rich tone from a solid Englemann Spruce top, along with the massive projection of its solid Rosewood body. Combine these tone woods with the versatility and performance of the 'Continually Adjustable Neck’, ‘Torque Reducing Split Bridge’ and 'Lateral Compression Soundboard' and you have what Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree calls "a truly remarkable instrument".

The comfortable 1-3/4" nut width lends itself well to all playing styles. Set the string height to exactly where you are most comfortable and you are ready to experience a clarity, balance, sustain, projection and response that truly sets the Babicz apart from other high end guitars. With the on-board L.R. Baggs dual pickup Stage Pro Anthem system, you can set your Babicz Dreadnought to the optimum blend of "Tru•Mic" and "Element" output and tone.

The revolutionary features of a Babicz instrument will give you the confidence to play in any conditions, as you can "self-regulate" the guitar to your specific needs at any time. Unparalleled craftsmanship, stunning aesthetics, innovative performance features and, most importantly, superior tonal qualities work together in Babicz Guitars’ most widely recognised modern classics.

The Babicz ID Series Spider Features

Solid Engelmann Spruce Soundboard

Solid Rosewood Back & Sides

Solid Rosewood Fretboard

Solid Rosewood Bridge (Adjustable for intonation)

Babicz Continually Adjustable Neck

Babicz Torque Reducing Split Bridge

Babicz Lateral Compression Soundboard

L.R. Baggs Stage Pro Anthem Dual Pickup/Preamp System

Natural Satin Finish Top & Neck

Natural Gloss Finish Body

Babicz Custom Arched Top, Hard Shell Case

Babicz Lateral Compression Soundboard

One of the most striking features of the Babicz concept is the manner in which the strings span out from the bridge assembly to attach to the bottom of the soundboard. Of course, it looks awesomely cool, but far from being a mere visual hook or gimmick, the revolutionary idea is entirely functional.

With this design, Jeff Babicz has been able able to achieve a more lateral tension pattern spread over a wider area of the guitar, "energizing" the soundboard (akin to tightening a drum head) resulting in full-bodied sound quality. Another attributing factor to this guitar’s great sound is that with the string tension being disbursed across the soundboard instead of anchored in the bridge, less structural bracing is required inside the instrument, allowing the soundboard to vibrate more freely and produce a purer, natural acoustic tone.

Babicz Continually Adjustable Neck

All Jeff Babicz guitars are equipped with this revolutionary neck joint system, which allows the player to quickly adjust the guitar's string height on the fly, with a simple turn of an included Allen key, to accommodate any playing style required. This is all achieved without knocking the guitar out of tune or altering the intonation. The system allows you to instantly change action for delicate fingerpicking to bluegrass banging to beefy slide action in just seconds, then crank the neck back down in less time than it takes to introduce the next tune.

Torque Reducing Split Bridge

Like the other innovative Babicz appointments, this unique system is strictly functional and serves three important purposes...

The bridge is adjustable for intonation because it is not glued to the soundboard but instead attached by special fasteners.

The retainer serves to keep the strings in perfect alignment to the bridge.

L.R. Baggs Electrics

The Babicz Dreadnought features the Stage Pro Anthem system which combines L.R. Baggs' Tru•Mic Technology pickup and Element™ under-saddle piezo pickup with a side-mounted preamp/EQ. This versatile system delivers incredible Tru•Mic fidelity, along with the presence and snap of the high-quality, award-winning Element pickup.

Continually Adjustable Neck

U.S. Patent # 7,157,634

The proprietary "Continually Adjustable Neck" by Babicz Design Ltd. (also known as the “Variable Set Neck™”) is a patented and innovative approach to adjusting the string height ("action") of a guitar in a fast and seamless motion. This is achieved by allowing the neck to slide up or down, with the turn of an ordinary Allen key, on command, by the musician. This adjustment has little or no effect on the intonation of the guitar.

By lifting the neck up or down to adjust the action, you are essentially adjusting the neck to the string height instead of the other way around. You are not re-pitching the neck, so a simple height adjustment does not affect tuning (pitch) or scale length.

The Babicz Continually Adjustable Neck is much like an electric guitar neck - because it is continuous. There is solid wood under the fret-board past the body. This is integral to the neck itself and offers extreme stability and sustain in the upper register. The dreaded fret-board 'drop off' past the body becomes extinct. The soundboard can vibrate more freely because the neck/fret-board is not attached to the top of the guitar like on conventional acoustics. Heavy upper bout bracing is unnecessary and eliminated. The height of the bridge's saddle never changes for the life of the guitar. High action warrantees are a non-issue.

For the acoustic musician, this represents a totally new level of performance. The guitar can now be "fine-tuned" to the exact string height for the performance desired – instantly.

Torque Reducing Split Bridge

U.S. Patent # 7,534,945

The Babicz "Torque Reducing Split Bridge" (also known as the "Variable Set Bridge") is not glued to the soundboard, but secured via special fasteners. For optimum performance, these fasteners can be released, and the entire bridge can be repositioned to achieve proper intonation throughout the entire life of the guitar.

This is possible due to the absence of bridge pins (and glue), as well as the incorporation of proprietary fastener slots provided in the soundboard.

Additionally, the patented bridge is a split design with a separate String Retainer. The separate String Retainer aligns the strings and applies downward pressure on the bridge's saddle.

By separating the two components, the classic forward rotational torque is substantially reduced - resulting in less soundboard stress. The bridge can never become unglued or lifted because the strings are not directly attached to the bridge. The separate String Retainer actually holds the bridge down.

Lateral Compression Soundboard

U.S. Patent # 7,112,733

When the strings are removed from the bridge and anchored to the top of the guitar, a lateral compression force is created (compression of wood within the soundboard, not compression of tone or frequency).

This creates a fully energized soundboard. The design is extremely strong because the strings are anchored directly to the soundboard, near the outer edge of the top, in a fan-like pattern. The string pull is almost entirely lateral and is spread out over a larger area. Because there is very little stress on the center of the soundboard (which is the weakest and most flexible part), traditional 'X' bracing can be removed and replacedwith a much more delicate and lighter bracing pattern. Internally, the new soundboard bracing pattern uses two semi-parallel braces (much like tone bars on an Archtop guitar) that start at the upper bout.

They pass along the edge of the bridge, and end deep within thelower bout. This allows the string vibration to pass from the bridge to the two primary braces, traveling laterally, using the entire length of the soundboard.

Flattops with strings attached to the bridge pull from the center of the soundboard, which creates a very taut top. This makes 'true' acoustic bass reproduction very difficult. Most conventional acoustic construction will have a choked bass response the further you play up the neck. The soundboard is not allowed to vibrate (pump air) as well because the top is too tight. With the Lateral Compression Soundboard, what you will hear is a new level of sonic purity. The purpose of extending the string below the bridge and attaching them to the top directly is to create lateral compression in the soundboard. We call it 'acoustical perpetuation'.

Another benefit to the design is a much more relaxed string feel to the player - especially when bending notes. Even though the Babicz guitar uses standard length strings, a longer portion of the string is used overall, (the core of the string is extended past the bridge). Musicians have commented on how 'buttery' the strings feel, and they thought that the gauges were .010" or .011", when in fact they were heavier .012" or .013".